"Azerbaijan's aggression towards Yeraskh is a threat to peace" - Ombudsman of Armenia
Shelling of the village of Yeraskh
“There is irrefutable evidence that the Azerbaijani military personnel conducted aimed fire at the civilian population and infrastructure, which is a violation of international law,” Armenian Ombudsman Anahit Manasyan said in a report. He was referring to the shelling by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the direction of the border Armenian village of Yeraskh in June this year.
A report was drawn up after studying the situation on the ground, following the results of the collection of facts by the apparatus of the human rights defender. It is reported that its English version will be sent to international organizations.
“The behavior of Azerbaijani military personnel is contrary to the principles and goals defined by the UN Charter, is a threat to peace and a manifestation of aggression,” the document says.
The village of Yeraskh in the Ararat region of Armenia was actively shelled from Azerbaijani military positions on June 13-14. Under aimed fire was, in particular, a metallurgical plant under construction here. As a result, two builders, who are citizens of India, were injured. The US has invested about $70 million in the construction of the Armenian-American plant. Now 70 citizens of India and 130 citizens of Armenia work here.
Shelling in the direction of Yeraskh was periodically repeated after the wounding of Indian citizens. The last time the Armenian Defense Ministry reported another shelling was on July 14. In this regard, the American companies Virtual funding and CSE Global Invests issued a statement. It states that “the repeated shooting of unarmed company workers will be considered a direct attack on American capital, which has no environmental motives and is a purely political decision.” Commenting on statements from Baku, American companies once again declared “false allegations that the plant under construction in Yeraskh will create an environmental problem for Azerbaijan.”
Violations of the rights of local residents
The report says that as a result of the actions of the armed forces of Azerbaijan, the rights of the civilian population to life, mental and physical integrity, property, education, labor, entrepreneurship and a number of other fundamental rights were violated.
The Office of the Ombudsman focuses on the following circumstances:
- “The houses of Yeraskh residents are several hundred meters from the Azerbaijani positions, the nearest house is about 100 meters away.”
- “Because of the shelling, the peaceful life of people, its usual, normal course, has been disrupted.”
- “Azerbaijani armed forces pursue the goal of constantly intimidating the civilian population and causing anxiety.”
“We wanted to achieve a powerful explosion”
The document provides details about the wounding of Indian citizens with reference to information received from the management of the plant:
“Two injured employees were targeted because they were working with oxygen tanks. The Azerbaijani military deliberately fired at these devices in order to cause a powerful explosion on the territory.”
The wounded were hardly taken to the hospital, as the Azerbaijanis fired on the transport transporting them. The builders told the ombudsman’s staff that the Azerbaijanis “fired from weapons of various calibers in the direction where 25 people were working, the shelling was thoughtful and targeted.”
“They also shot at the school”
According to the testimony of inhabitants of Yeraskh, the shots were clearly audible throughout the village. “This allows us to talk about the use of large-caliber weapons,” the report says.
The authors of the document say that on June 14, the target for the Azerbaijani Armed Forces was not only the plant under construction in Yeraskh, but also the school:
“Students took the exam for 15 minutes to the sound of shelling. However, due to the unprecedented intensity of the shooting, the exam ended 20 minutes early. Students and teachers were evacuated from the school in groups.”
The school, which has 129 students, is located about 300 meters from the Azerbaijani combat position.
“Under the gun of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces is not only a school, but also a kindergarten. The constant aggressive behavior of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces grossly violates the fundamental rights guaranteed by international law, directly affecting the normal life of children and the realization of their right to education,” the report says.
“Objective Evidence of Violations”
The Ombudsman’s report contains a section entitled “Objective Evidence of Violations”. Here are photographs of a civilian vehicle damaged by shelling, the administrative building of the plant, construction equipment, damaged poles, walls and a fence of a building under construction.
Photographs of physical evidence have also been published, in particular fragments taken from the bodies of the wounded, bullets found after the shelling of buildings.
The ombudsman’s office called on the state administration and local self-government bodies of Armenia to continue collecting information on the actions of Azerbaijani military personnel. They will also be presented to the European Court of Human Rights and other international structures empowered to protect human rights.
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Shelling of the village of Yeraskh and the Armenian-American factory
